


Every Kiss Is A Cursive Line

by Browneyesparker



Series: Love At [2]
Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Ice Skating, Kissing, Love, Post-Holiday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-26
Updated: 2013-12-26
Packaged: 2018-01-06 06:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1103262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browneyesparker/pseuds/Browneyesparker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in my “Love At The Christmas Eve Table” verse. It is the day after Patrick and Teresa get together, and they go ice skating. Title comes from “Turning Page” by Sleeping At Last.</p><p>Disclaimer: I do not own anything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Kiss Is A Cursive Line

****

_December 26 th_

 

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Patrick answered, getting to his feet with wobbly knees. He smiled at her weakly. “Why don’t you go first?”

Her smile lit up the whole park. “Patrick, are you _scared_?”

“Me! Scared?” Patrick scoffed. “ _No way!_ Ice skating can’t be as bad as surfing with a whole bunch of angry sharks.”

Teresa laughed. “You’ve _never_ surfed with sharks before.”

“No,” Patrick conceded. “But there’s always a possibility that sharks could show up.”

“Well, ice skating isn’t as dangerous as surfing then. Although, you could end up with a few bumps and bruises, if you’re not careful.”

Patrick nodded and stepped out onto the ice gingerly. “Okay. Here we go. . .”

“Keep your arms out,” Teresa told him. “It’ll help you keep your balance.”

He held his arms out like she suggested, for a second his shakiness subsided and he was able to skate towards Teresa. Patrick was certain that he’d gotten the hang of skating but then he made the mistake of leaning forward. It was all over in a single instant he had collided with Teresa. She yelped and tried to catch them, but it didn’t stop him from falling flat on his back.

“Ooof,” Patrick said, wincing in pain. “Well, I didn’t see _that_ coming.”

“Well, you’re going to be bruised tomorrow. I should have warned you about leaning forward,” Teresa answered, her voice muffled by his coat collar. “Do you think you can get up?”

“Not with you on top of me,” Patrick replied, not making a move to push her away.

She laughed cheerfully and made a move to get up. She didn’t get a chance to though; he had her on _her_ back before she even had a chance to react. She stared up at him, unblinking and then gave him half-a-smile. “Hi,” she whispered.

“Hi,” Patrick whispered back and then he leaned down to kiss her. She kissed him back, lacing her fingers through his hair, not caring in the least if anybody else showed up to ice skate.

She had suppressed her feelings for him for so long; she had wondered about _his_ feelings for so long that she didn’t care if the whole world saw them together. Their affectionate exchanged lasted a few minutes, with tender caresses and words of love whispered in between every kiss. When she was weightless and her thoughts were a fuzzy mess, the attention stopped.

“Do you think you can get up?” He whispered.

“Yeah,” Teresa answered reluctantly.

Patrick got on his knees and pulled her up to her’s. They stayed there like that for a while, kneeling on the ice and staring at each other, not saying a single word. And then he pushed her hair away from her face. “You’re so beautiful. I only wish that I had been able to say it to you before. I wish that I had told you sooner.”

“The important thing is that you _said_ it,” Teresa told him, smiling at him and tweaking his cheek. She got to her feet and pulled him up with her, she squeezed his hand tightly. “Come on, I still want to do get some skating in before it gets to dark. Don’t worry Patrick, I’m not going to let you fall again.”

“Thanks,” Patrick said, moving and taking her other hand as he rested his forehead against her’s. He closed his eyes and took a moment to breathe her in, to memorize her again. He would have been content to stay this way with her forever.

“Come on,” she whispered, pulling away from him. “You’ll get the hang of skating in no time at all. Just stick with me.”

“Okay,” Patrick agreed, the shakiness returning to his knees for a second. But when she pulled him along with her, all his fears disappeared. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would keep him safe, she’d already been doing it for years.

**.**

Later on, he carried her skates and listened to her chat merrily as they walked back to her house. In the back of his mind, he realized that this was the happiest he had seen her since the Christmas before her mother had died. He wanted to ask her about it, but he knew it had something to do with him. Suddenly, he wished he hadn’t waited for years to tell her that he loved her. If he had done it right away, maybe things would have returned to normal sooner.

“You look lost,” Teresa said, interjecting into his musings. “What are you thinking about?”

Patrick sighed. “I was just thinking about how I wish that I had told you I loved you sooner.”

She stopped walking and smiled up at him, her lovely understanding smile. “Oh Patrick, don’t let that bother you. You told me when you were ready and that’s what is most important. Maybe you would have regretted telling me sooner and then you would have left. Maybe if you had told me right away then we wouldn’t be right here right now. And maybe, that would have been your biggest regret.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Patrick agreed.

“Come on,” Teresa said, taking his free hand. “Let’s get home and get some hot chocolate. It’s freezing out here.”

**.**

Teresa unlocked the door and kicked her boots off. “Throw the skates anywhere. I’ll take care of them later,” she said.

Patrick dropped them by the door and followed her into the kitchen. “What can I do to help?”

“Nothing,” Teresa replied, taking down a tin of cocoa from the cabinet and turning on the stove. “This is an old family recipe. My mom taught me how to make it when I could stand on a chair without losing my balance.”

“My dad taught me to cold read somebody when I was four,” Patrick said.

Teresa laughed while she carefully measured out all the ingredients and stirred them until the liquid was boiling. Then she got two mugs and poured the hot chocolate into them. “Here you go. Come on, let’s go and sit on the couch. I’ll get a few blankets and we can try to get warm.”

“Right behind you,” Patrick said.

Teresa got a few blankets and they settled down on the couch. He draped his arm around her and she curled up into him, smiling contentedly as she sipped on her drink. A part of her was still afraid that she would wake up and find out that she had dreamed the whole thing. That it would still be Christmas Eve and she’d still only be Patrick’s friend.

But then he pulled her closer and she knew that it was one of the most real things in the world.

**_The End_**


End file.
